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Success means so many different things to people. Hence, there are different yardsticks for success. We tend to go with the popular, accepted measures of success and try to fit in. That could result in many of us aspiring for emblems of success that conform to societal expectations. Hence, what we consider as a measure of success may not square with what we would define as success, on our own!

Entrepreneurship has once again become a buzzword in the past decade or so. Startup has become a well-recognised term that has now come to symbolise the spirit of entrepreneurship. The top leadership, including PM Modi has been supportive of the startup culture.

Central Bank Digital Currency or CBDC is the new kid on the block. This is a digital currency ( eg. Digital Rupee ) issued by the Central bank of a country whose value will typically be equal to the fiat currency ( Rupee ) that is in the form of paper currency and coins.

The world loves property. It is considered to be a solid asset that does not easily lose value. In fact, many aver that real estate is the only asset that always goes up and gives great returns!

Gold has a long history of being a favourite investment, a store of value from time immemorial. It is seen as a good hedge against inflation. It is a rare metal, available in limited quantities which ensures that it retains a certain value always.

World trade happens to a major extent in US dollars. So when two countries trade, they first convert their currency into dollars and pay it to the other party, who in turn convert dollars into their currency. In this entire process, there is said to be a 2-3% overall charge, which is very expensive especially when the amounts are in billions and trillions of dollars. But dollar trade was happening all along without a hitch, in spite of this.

The world is undergoing a dramatic transformation at this point. The Chinese Wuhan Virus has given the impetus and increased the velocity of change globally.
I had written earlier about the changes underway that have the potential to change the extant power equations and even bring about a new changed world order that has multipolar characteristics.

While the west led by the US may still be powerful, the world order is certainly changing. The US certainly lost some sheen when it exited Afghanistan abruptly and gifted it to the Taliban, which it was fighting against for 20 years! It abandoned military equipment valued at over USD 1 billion, during this hasty retreat.

We are at a very interesting point in the world today. The world is in transition and we could even say that this could be an inflection point where the current world order is coming into question and there is a good chance of a new world order emerging.

It is important that we pay attention to our dear ones and their financial well-being. We need to atleast ensure that they are not committing major blunders that will come back to bite them ( and us ). Better still, it would be great if we are able to put them on a path of fiscal prudence, along with proper savings and investments.